Waterproof bag

ABSTRACT

A waterproof bag includes a bag body, a sealing clip structure and a fastener. The bag body has an opening facing upward at a top edge thereof The top edge of the bag body is to be folded over to turn the opening upside-down. The sealing clip structure is disposed at the top edge of the bag body and includes first and second strip members that are respectively disposed at opposite sides of the bag body for sealing the opening of the bag body. The fastener is disposed on the bag body for fastening the sealing clip structure once the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded over and turn the opening of the bag body upside-down.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to a waterproof bag, and more especially to a waterproof bag that can be well sealed by plastic strip members.

2. Related Prior Art

Generally speaking, it's a big concern for people that their personal belongings often get wet when they participate in water sports activities, and thus a various kinds of bags with waterproof functions are developed. However, for those doing surfing activities, they pay more attention to the watertight bags with much higher sealing quality and portable functions than those regular waterproof bags. Take an example of the magnetic tape disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,187,261, the magnetic tape includes a pair of strip members covering the magnet that are welded together, which is applied to two opening sides of the a waterproof bag by using high frequency welding whereby the magnet is encapsulated in hermetically sealed capsules to replace the conventional technique using zipper seals.

Nevertheless, the shortcomings of this kind of the magnetic tape are high cost with poor sealing effects. In practical uses, the fact that this kind of bags having magnetic tape barely resist the sudden severe impact of incoming waves just by the magnetic attraction, which therefore limits the waterproof functions. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a high-quality water resistance of the waterproof bags that can resist tremendous forces of waves without affecting watertight function.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

To solve aforementioned problems, a new waterproof bag of the present invention is therefore provided.

Specifically, the present invention is directed to a waterproof bag, which comprises a bag body, first and second strip members and a fastener. The bag body is essentially consisting of two flexible sheets and has an opening facing upward at a top edge thereof The top edge of the bag body is to be folded over to turn the opening upside-down. The sealing clip structure is disposed at the top edge of the bag body and includes first and second strip members that are respectively disposed at opposite sides of the bag body for sealing the opening of the bag body. The fastener is disposed on the bag body for fastening the sealing clip structure once the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded over and turns the opening of the bag body upside-down.

Preferably, a pair of connecting rings may be respectively disposed at opposite edges of the bag body.

Preferably, the bag body is formed with a fold line about which the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded over to a position where the sealing clip structure is ready to be fastened by the fastener.

Preferably, the first strip member includes a jutting section extending downward from a bottom thereof The jutting section has a bottom edge that is tapered in thickness toward an inner side thereof and joined to the fold line. Besides, each of the first and second strip members may include a connecting section extending upward from a top thereof and extending outside the top edge of the bag body. The connecting sections of the strip members together are formed with a zip-lock seal therebetween.

Preferably, each of the two connecting sections of the first and second strip members may include a lip portion extending upward and outward therefrom so that a clearance is defined between the lip portions of the connecting sections when the opening of the bag body is sealed by the first and second strip members. Moreover, the connecting sections may be formed with a plurality of ribs on opposed inner sides thereof

Preferably, the first strip member and the fastener are arranged on the same side of the bag body and are together configured to form a zip-lock seal therebetween once the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded over. Furthermore, the second strip member may be formed at opposite ends thereof with a pair of projections. The fastener, on the other hand, has a pair of folding sections at opposite ends thereof and extending outside the bag body. Each of the folding sections of the fastener defines an engaging hole for reception of a respective one of the projections of the second strip member when the folding sections are folded over back to the bag body.

Compared with the traditional bag, the present invention is a waterproof bag with absolute positive watertight effects. Specifically, the opening of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded down, which makes the bottom edge of the first strip member press against the fold line of the bag body, so as to firmly seal the opening of the bag body. Secondly, the fastener secures the sealing clip structure once the bag body is folder over, by engaging with the first strip member, the second strip member or both. Accordingly, the present invention achieves functions of great watertight seal to resist tremendous forces of waves while being used in water sports activities.

Other features, objects, aspects and advantages will be identified and described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a waterproof bag in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front exploded perspective view of the waterproof bag shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the waterproof bag shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear exploded perspective view of the waterproof bag shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of first and second strip members of the waterproof bag shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the waterproof bag shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the waterproof bag shown in FIG. 6, partially broken to show detail in section;

FIG. 8 illustrates that the waterproof bag of FIG. 1 is completely sealed;

FIG. 9 illustrates that a top edge of the water proof bag is folded over to be completely sealed;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the waterproof bag of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of a waterproof bag in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of the waterproof bag in FIG. 11, showing that the waterproof bag is completely sealed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1-10, there is shown a waterproof bag 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The waterproof bag 100 comprises a bag body 1, a sealing clip structure 2, a fastener 3 and two connecting rings 41, 42. The bag body 1 consists of two soft and thin flexible sheets 10, 11, which are made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The two flexible sheets 10, 11 are joined together at seams 12 by a known thermal melting pressing process.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sealing clip structure 2 includes first and second strip members 2 that are in form of rigid, elongated pieces, such as clip-chain zippers, magnetic tapes, pressing-fit bars or any other articles that offer watertight functions. Each of the first and second strip members 2 has two flat inner side surfaces that are respectively attached to the two flexible sheets 10, 11. The first and second strip members 2 can be selectively secured to the two opposite outer sides of the bag body 1 or to the two opposite inner sides of the bag body 1, if needed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first strip member 21 has a locking groove 210 defined in an outer side surface thereof, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7. The fastener 3 is attached to a front side surface 16 of the bag body 1 and is formed with a ridge 31 at its outer surface. In this way, the ridge 31 can be engaged in the locking groove 210 of the first strip member 21 when the first strip member 21 is folded over. In other examples, the outer surface of the fastener 3 may include a locking groove instead of the ridge so as to be engage with a ridge formed on the first strip member 21. In either way, the fastener 3 and the first strip member 21 together form a zip-lock seal therebetween, as shown in FIG. 9.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the two connecting rings 41, 42 are secured to two opposite edges of the bag body 1, and are located closer to a top edge 13 of the bag body 1. The connecting rings 41, 42 are provided to enable the waterproof bag 100 to be well tied onto a surfboard (not shown), thereby avoiding the waterproof bag 100 from coming off the surfboard while being used in water sports activities.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the bag body 1 has an opening 14 formed at the top edge 13 of the bag body 1, allowing personal belongings to be placed in the bag body 1 through the opening 14. The first and second strip members 2 are secured at positions adjacent to the opening 14 of the bag body 1 by ultrasonic technique in order to seal up the opening 14. In addition, the bag body 1 is formed with a fold line 15 at the front side surface 16 thereof to facilitate folding of the bag body 1 over onto a rest part of the bag body 1.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 illustrate a rear side of the waterproof bag 100. As shown, the second strip member 22 is attached to a rear side surface 17 of the bag body 1. The second strip member 22 is formed with a pair of projections 221 and 222 on two opposite ends thereof On the other hand, the fastener 3 defines a pair of engaging holes 311 and 312 in two opposite ends thereof, corresponding to the projections 221 and 222 of the second strip member 22. In this way, when the top edge 13 of the bag body 1 with the sealing clip structure 2 thereon is folded over and turn the opening 14 of the bag body 1 upside-down, the first strip member 21 is ready to be pressed and fastened onto the fastener 3. Later, two folding sections 33 and 34, which are respectively formed at two opposite ends of the fastener 3, can then be folded over, as shown in FIG. 8, to contact with the second strip member 22, thereby locking the projections 221 and 222 of the second strip member 22 in the engaging holes 311 and 312 of the fastener 3. As such, the sealing clip structure 2 along with the top edge 13 of the bag body 1 is firmly secured onto the fastener 3.

As best seen in FIG. 5, each of the first and second strip members 2 has a connecting section, 214 and 224 respectively extending upward and extending outside the top edge 13 of the bag body 1. The two connecting sections 214 and 224 of the first and second strip members 2 respectively include a protrusion 215 and an indentation 225 formed face-to-face at inner sides 211 and 223 of the two connecting sections 214 and 224. The protrusion 215 of the connecting section 214 is designed to engage with the indentation 225 of the connecting section 224 to form a zip-lock seal. The connecting sections 214 and 224 further include lip portions 216 and 226. As shown in FIG. 7, the lip portions 216 and 226 extend upward and outward from the top of the first and second strip members 2 and located higher than the top edge 13 of the bag body 1. The left-side lip portion 216 has a plurality of ribs 217 and 228 formed at an inner surface thereof Similarly, the right-side lip portion 226 has a plurality of ribs 227 and 228 formed at an inner surface thereof, facing the ribs 217, 218 of the lip portions 216.

Referring again to FIG. 7, the lip portions 216 and 226 are in a form of bending shape, which naturally define a clearance 23 therebetween. The clearance 23 allows a user to easily open the opening 14 of the bag body 1 with the user's fingers. In other examples, the ribs 217, 227, 218 and 228 may be arranged offset.

Referring still to FIG. 7, the first strip member 21 is formed with a jutting section 219 extending downward. The jutting section 219 has a bottom edge 219 a tapered toward the inner side surface of the first strip member 21 and is joined to the fold line 15 on the bag body 1. It should be noted that the bottom edge 219 a of the jutting section 219 abuts against the fold line 15 to firmly press the two flexible sheets 10 and 11 of the bag body 1 when the top edge 13 of the bag body 1 with the sealing clip structure 2 thereon is folded over, and therefore allows the ridge 31 of the fastener 3 to engage with the locking groove 210 of the first strip member 21. As such, the waterproof bag 100 can be firmly sealed not only by the adhesive force generated between the two flexible sheets 10, 11 of the bag body 1 but also by the pressing force exerted by the bottom edge 219 a of the jutting section 219 that bears against the fold line 15 to achieve excellent watertight effects, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9.

As shown in FIG. 9, the fastener 3 is engaged with the sealing clip structure 2 in a first manner. More specifically, the locking groove 210 of the first strip member 21 is engaged with the ridge 31 of the fastener 3, which makes the bottom edge 219 a of the jutting section 219 firmly bearing against the fold line 15 on the flexible sheets 10 and 11 of the bag body 1. As such, the opening 14 of the bag body 1 is further sealed, which makes the waterproof bag 100 with higher water resistant effects.

As shown in FIG. 10, the fastener 3 is further engaged with the sealing clip structure 2 in a second manner. The folding sections 33, 34 of the fastener 3 are folded over to have the projections 221, 222 of the second strip member 22 locked into the engaging holes 311, 312 in the folding sections 33 and 34 of the fastener 3. As such, the opening 14 of the bag body 1 is further secured and sealed.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, there is shown a waterproof bag 200 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the fastener 7 is secured to a rear side surface 51 of the bag body 5, and the second strip member 62 of the sealing clip structure 6 is formed with a pair of projections 63, 64 on opposite ends thereof The first and second strip members 61, 62 include a zip-lock seal formed at inner side surfaces thereof to seal the opening (not numbered) of the bag body 5. The top edge of the bag body 5 with the sealing clip structure 6 thereon is folded over to turn the opening upside-down. Two folding sections 71, 72, of the fastener 7, are then folded over to have the projections 63, 64 of the strip 62 locked into the engaging holes 73, 74 of the fastener 7, thereby firmly securing the sealing clip structure 6 along with the top edge of the bag body 5 to the fastener 7, as shown in FIG. 12.

As described above, the waterproof bag 100, 200 of the present invention has the bag body with a material having a characteristic of high friction, which helps sealing the opening of the bag body by itself Moreover, the opening of the bag body is secondly sealed by the zip-lock seal of the first and second strip members of the sealing clip structure. But not just yet, the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is further folded over to have the bottom edge of the first strip member press against the fold line of the zip-lock seal, creating a third sealing effect. This allows the two flexible sheets of the bag body to be firmly bond to each other and therefore the opening of the bag body is well sealed. The first and second strip members are then fastened onto the fastener to achieve great watertight effects.

It will be appreciated that although a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, modifications may be made. It is intended in the claims to cover such modifications which come within the spirit and scope of the invention. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A waterproof bag, comprising: a bag body having an opening facing upward at a top edge thereof, wherein the top edge of the bag body is to be folded over to turn the opening of the bag body upside-down; a sealing clip structure disposed at the top edge of the bag body and including first and second strip members that are respectively disposed at opposite sides of the bag body for sealing the opening of the bag body; and a fastener disposed on the bag body for fastening the sealing clip structure once the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded over and turn the opening of the bag body upside-down.
 2. The waterproof bag of claim 1, further comprising a pair of connecting rings respectively disposed at opposite edges of the bag body.
 3. The waterproof bag of claim 1, wherein the bag body is formed with a fold line about which the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded over to a position where the sealing clip structure is ready to be fastened by the fastener.
 4. The waterproof bag of claim 3, wherein the first strip member includes a jutting section extending downward from a bottom thereof, and the jutting section has a bottom edge that is tapered in thickness toward an inner side thereof and joined to the fold line.
 5. The waterproof bag of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second strip members includes a connecting section extending upward from a top thereof and extending outside the top edge of the bag body; and the connecting sections of the strip members together are formed with a zip-lock seal therebetween.
 6. The waterproof bag of claim 5, wherein each of the two connecting sections of the first and second strip members includes a lip portion extending upward and outward therefrom so that a clearance is defined between the lip portions of the connecting sections when the opening of the bag body is sealed by the first and second strip members.
 7. The waterproof bag of claim 6, wherein the connecting sections of the first and second strip members are formed with a plurality of ribs on opposed inner sides thereof.
 8. The waterproof bag of claim 1, wherein the bag body is essentially consisting of two flexible sheets comprising a material of thermoplastic polyurethane.
 9. The waterproof bag of claim 1, wherein the first strip member and the fastener are arranged on the same side of the bag body and are together configured to form a zip-lock seal once the top edge of the bag body with the sealing clip structure thereon is folded over.
 10. The waterproof bag of claim 9, wherein the second strip member is formed at opposite ends thereof with a pair of projections; the fastener has a pair of folding sections at opposite ends thereof and extending outside the bag body; and each of the folding section defines an engaging hole for reception of a respective one of the projections of the second strip member.
 11. The waterproof bag of claim 1, wherein the second strip member is formed at opposite ends thereof with a pair of projections; the fastener has a pair of folding sections at opposite ends thereof and extending outside the bag body; and each of the folding sections of the fastener defines an engaging hole for reception of a respective one of the projections of the second strip member when the folding sections are folded over back to the bag body. 